Key Democrat enthusiastic about ‘Gang’ debt plan

By -
Associated Press -
Wednesday, July 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee said Wednesday that a deficit-reduction proposal by the “Gang of Six” is promising, but there’s likely too little time for Congress to act before the Aug. 2 default deadline.

The congressman told MSNBC that the new outline suggested by three Democratic and three Republican senators “provides some additional momentum” for ending the political stalemate. However, he added, “It’s really hard to get our caucus to focus” without more details.

“We need to proceed with Plan B in case this thing unravels,” Mr. Van Hollen said, referring to a proposal to give President Obama the authority to increase the debt limit incrementally.